As almost all the conventional anchor winches for use in a motor boat, a yacht or a small-size fishing boat have hitherto been of manual type, they require troublesome operation. Recently such winches have been provided with an electric motor to ensure automatic operation by manipulating a switch. However, in these anchor winches, an electric motor is placed outside the winding drum and these anchor winches themselves become large, and need large installation space. Furthermore, the electric motor and the linkage mechanism from the electric motor are apt to be badly influenced by sea water.